Blackened Fish Baja Tacos

Cooking Light’s The New Way to Cook Light (which just last weekend won the 2013 James Beard Award in the “Focus on Health” category) has a terrific recipe for fish tacos. They used tilapia, but I chose to use fresh lingcod fillets instead. Blackened Fish Baja Tacos made a fantastic dinner which Bob and I both enjoyed.

The tacos would be equally good, I think, with true cod, mahi mahi, or any fish that you enjoy. Cooking Light suggests using shrimp as an alternative as well.

Although it took a little longer to make than I was expecting, the recipe is very easy and I will definitely be making Blackened Fish Baja Tacos again!

1. Put the sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeno pepper in a food processor and process until smooth. (My small processor worked fine.) Put in a bowl and stir in the sliced onions.

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2. Stir the paprika, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl.

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3. Coat the fish fillets on both sides with the spice mixture. Use all of it.

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4. Preheat the oven to warm. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Put the tortillas in the dry skillet, heating them for about 30 – 40 seconds on each side. When all of the tortillas are done, wrap them in foil and keep them in the warm oven.

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5. Add the oil to the skillet and heat until it’s hot. Add the fish fillets and cook until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 3 minutes on each side.

I will have to pick up that book. I need lighter recipes in lieu of all the baking I’ve been doing. Fish tacos are one of my favs, and I do love blackened anything. Hope you are having a good week.
-Gina-

Thanks, Gina! I do love the way Cooking Light lightens up recipes without compromising flavor. And I appreciate that they don’t use artificial sweeteners or a lot of fat-free ingredients. I think you’ll like the book.